Guitarist and vocalist Jimi Hendrix was born November 27, 1942 in Seattle, Washington. Hendrix’s music is heavily influenced by both blues and jazz and is considered one of the fundamental building blocks of rock and roll  He first achieved national recognition at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, and became an overnight sensation. He would then headline the famous 1969 Woodstock festival. Hendrix is considered by many to be one of the greatest guitarists of all time, and Rolling Stone did indeed name him number one is 2003. Hendrix had a short career, cut short by his untimely death in 1970, but he left a legacy that will live on for all of music’s eternity.

Hendrix used mainly Fender Stratocasters throughout his career. However, he was left-handed, so he used right-handed guitars which were turned upside down and restrung so he could play left-handed. This changed the sound of the Stratocaster significantly; because of the slant of the pickup, the low E string had a brighter sound, and the high E string had a mellower sound. This is the exact opposite of a Stratocaster’s usual sound.

Hendrix was one of the first guitarists to rely heavily on effects to change the sound of his electric guitar playing. He played very loudly and used feedback to get his signature psychedelic and funk sound. He typically used an Arbiter Fuzz Face and a Vox Wah-Wah pedal. A wah pedal will be absolutely necessary in replicating the sound of Hendrix. He always used a Marshall stack and amplifiers, tuned to an extremely high volume, in order to produce feedback noises. In addition to some of his trick playing, like playing with his teeth and behind his back, he often used his thumb to play the bass note, while his other fingers could play the higher notes. His thumb technique can be seen during the Woodstock video as he is playing “Red House.”

As his style is very riff focused,  playing guitar like Jimi Hendrix is going to be a tough feat, but it can be pulled off. Artist such as Kenny Wayne Shepherd, John Mayer and countless other have been known to be heavily influenced by Hendrix, but no one can truly to replicate his innovative style and sound. To sound like Jimi Hendrix, you will need absolute expert knowledge of the guitar, including scales and lead-playing. His effects can be reproduced fairly simply, but his playing style combined with his pure talent can be tough to play.

Keep Rockin’!!!
Jimi Hendrix by bsdphoto taken on June 11, 2009
Fender Stratocaster by blvesboy taken on September 29, 2003